Iran Defeats Qatar in World Cup Qualifier
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran defeated Qatar in its opening World Cup qualifier match thanks to two injury time goals from Reza Ghoochannejhad and Alireza Jahanbaksh.
In the match held Thursday evening at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Ghoochannejhad, who came off the bench, was on target in the 94th minute and six minutes later Jahanbakhsh extended the lead.
Iran controlled much of the opening proceedings, but it was the Qataris who fashioned out the better of the goal scoring opportunities in the first 20 minutes.
Qatari Sebastian Soria’s attempt from the tightest of angles did little to trouble Alireza Beiranvand in the goal, who was also equal to Hassan Al Haydos’ effort soon after.
Iranians slowly turned their dominance of possession into attempts on goal and Ashkan Dejagah should have done better with his effort from outside the area rather than dragging his low shot well wide of the target.
The game turned increasingly disjointed during the second half, with Iranian defender Jalal Hosseini going close to opening the scoring 17 minutes from time when he met Andranik Teymourian’s corner with a header that went just wide of Lacomte’s goal.
Iran has been drawn in Group A of the World Cup qualification along with South Korea, Uzbekistan, China, Qatar and Syria.
Team Melli will face China on September 6 in Shenyang, China.
